Vacuum cleaner



C. E. HANSEN VACUUM CLEANER April ll, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 bmw Wh, NWNWM.

Q Q, NQ@ N MN ml.

April 1l, 1951 c. E. HANSEN 2,978,732

VACUUM CLEANER 5 sheets-sheet 2 @MEW/@w C. E. HANSEN VACUUM CLEANERApril 1l, 1961 5 Sheets-Shea?I 3 Filed Sept. 24, 1957 April l1, 1961 c.E. HANSEN VACUUM CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 24. 1957 NN NNLApril 11, 1951 c. E. HANSEN 2,978,732

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Sept. 24, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 VACUUM CLEANERClarence E. Hansen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Whirlpool Corporation, acorporation of Delaware Filed Sept. V24, 1957, Ser. No. 685,977

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-323) This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner of this invention is of compact, lightweightconstruction that has a very low center of `gravity and in which the-dirt separating'member is readily available and easily installed andremoved when it is necessary to replace a filled dirt separator with anempty one.

Vacuum cleaners of the type described and claimed herein are ordinarilyknown as canister type cleaners in which the vacuum producing and dirtseparating structure is attached through a exible hose and tubular wan-dto a cleaning tool. Various tools may be attached to the wand dependingupon the type of cleaning job being done. As the tool is moved over thesurface being cleaned, such as a floor covering or a b are floor, the`suction producing structure is adapted to be pulled along behind theoperator of the vacuum cleaner. Such cleaners and their operation arewell known inthe art.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of animproved vacuum cleaner in which the suction producing and dirtseparating portion is of low conbe easily carried about from place toplace by a handle attached to one end. A particular feature of oneembodiment of this invention is theprovision of a cleaning tool carrierof an improved construction in which tools can be stored and theprovision of wand section and exible hose retaining meansfor retainingthe wand sections and vhose, on the cleaner when it is in storageposition.

Other features and advantages of the invention `will be apparent fromthe embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner illustratingVthe invention. o V- Y i Y Figure 2 is a substantially central verticalsection through the yacuum cleaner ofrFigure 1. i

vFigure 3 is an enlarged sectional view, broken in the middle and at theleft-hand end, showing the vacuum cleaner of Figure 2 with thecover inraised position.

Figure 4 is -a plan' view, partially broken Aaway for clarity ofillustration, of the vacuum .cleaner with the cover. and motor Vand fanu nit removed.

" Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of thel rear tool carrier end ofthe vacuumcleaner., l o

.Figure 6 is a sectional,,jelevatlonal view, partially along line 7 7 ofFigure l.,`

v YFigure 8 is a vertical, sectionalview similar to Figurje 2 -rbutillustrating',A a second `embodiment of the, invention.

2,978,732 Patented Apr. 11, i961= ICC Figure 9 is a view similar toFigure 8 but showing the cover in raised position.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary plan view, partially in section, of theintake end of this second embodiment.

Figure ll is a sectional, elevational view illustrating a releasablecatch used in both of the illustrated embodiments of the vacuum cleaner.i

In the embodiment shown in Figures l-7 inclusive the "vacuum cleanercomprises a platform 10 of generally rectangular cross section having adownwardly extending skirt 11 around the margin of the platform. Thisskirt is covered over a major portion of its outer surface with a rubberbumper strip 12. The cleaner is supported for movement over a surfacesuch as a rug being cleaned by va pair of laterally spaced rear wheels13, each rotatably held in a bracket 14. The skirt 11 is long enough toconceal at least partially the wheels 13. Located at the front of thecleaner is a caster wheel 1S rotatably mounted on a caster 16, alsowithin the contines of the skirt 11.

Depending from the platform 1t) at a forward location thereon is adownwardly extending sheet metal chamber 17 having a lower wall 17aessentially parallel to the door 18 or other surface and a substantiallycircular outer wall 17b. Mounted on the lower wall 17a adjacent to theouter wall 17b are a plurality of brackets 19 extending beyond the ywall17b. These brackets serve to retain the electric cord 20 in place whenit is wound .around the outer surface 17h as on a reel.

The bottom wall 17a of the chamber 17 is formed with an opening 21defined by an inwardly directed flange 17C. Concentrically located withrespect to this flange is an infwardly positioned cylindrical member 22provided with an inwardly directed ange 22a.. The two anges 17o and 22ahave their inner edges of substantially the same diameter and aligned.

`The upper portion of the sheet metal chamber 17 is dened by anoutwardly extending flange 23 which ,is attached to the bottom surfaceof the platform 1d by a plurality of bolts 24. The section of theplatform 10 adjacent to this flange 23 is bent upwardly to provide achannel 10a in which is located an annular ring of resilient rubber 25.ASubstantially centrally of this rubber ring 'is positioned the outeredge of an annular plate 26 that is provided with a central opening 26aand which extends across an opening 10b in the platform 10 defined bythe inner edge vof the flange 10a. VHeld in the central opening 26a ofthe sheet metal plate 26 is a suction unit 27 that includes a verticallyaligned motor and casing 28 having an upwardly extending motor shaft 29on which is located a multi-stage fan 30. This suction unit is providedwith an outwardly anddownwardly extending flange 31 adjacent .totheiinterior end of the fan Sil on which is rerriovablyheldv,

such as by friction, an air pervious felt covered metal screen 32 ofgenerally dish shape. The construction of the suction unit 27 includingthe motor and casing 28, shaft 29, fan 30 and screen 32 is purelyconventional and need not be described further except to say thatrotation of the fan by the motor causes air to be drawn from within thespace 33 through the felt covered screen 32 which acts as a safety guardinto the `entrance 30a to the fan Within the motor and casing 28 andinto the space 34 within the chamber 17 from which the air is exhaustedthrough the opening 21 into the atmosphere. n

Mounted on the front end of the platform 1d adjacent to the front caster16 is atransverse bracket 35, having a bottom ange 35a attached to theplatform as by rivets 36, and an upwardly extending plate portion,,facing the Vfront or' right-hand end of the cleaner vas viewed inFigures v1 and 2.' This plate portion Sfis provided with .a centrallyheated pvm'ng adiaen t0. the top. thereof in which is positioned thefront end of a rearwardly extending tube 38. The inner end of this tubeis provided with a circular upwardly extending bead 38a. Mounted on thefront surface ofthe plate portion 37 around the front end of the tube 38is a ring of resilient sponge'rubber39. The top edge of the plateportion 37 is bent forwardly as illustrated at 37a to contact the topsurface of the ring 39. The opposite ends of the plate portion 37 areprovided with substantially forwardly extending projections 37b.

Immediately rearwardly of the-suction unit 27 is a catch plate 40attached to the rear of the flange 10a as by means of rivets 4i. Thiscatch plate extends upwardly to beyond the top of the screen 32 and iscurved forwardly `and is provided with side reinforcing edges 40a and anupper opening 40b, the top of which is defined by an inwardly extendingflange 40e. The top of the plate 40 above the iiange is curvedupwardlyand forwardly to describe a smooth curve 40d.

Located rearwardly of the catch plate 46 and on the rear end of theplatform is a container 42 for cleaning tools. This container has abottom 43 attached to the top of the platform 1), as by screws 44, arear Wall 4S extending upwardly from the edge of the platform 10, sideWalls 46 adjacent to the rear side edges of the piatf'orm 10 and anupper forwardly extending ange 47 around the rear and side Walls coveredby a resilient 'agravan rubber strip 48 which extends downwardly alongthe top of the outer surfaces of the rear wall 42 and side walls 4'6.The rubber covered flange 47 serves to aid in retaining cleaning toolswithin the container 42. The forward edges of each side Wall 46 arecovered by a sheet metal trim strip 49 which extends the full verticalheight of the side wall 46 and which provides a decorative appearance. j

Movably mounted on the platform 1t)l is an enclosing casing cover 50having a top 50a, front Sub, rear 50c and side 50d Walls. In theembodiment shown, the cover Sti is hingedly attached to the front of theplatform 1t) by means of hinge sections 51 attached to the lower frontedge of the cover and cooperating with the projections 37b and4connected thereto by hinge pins 52. The cover 50 is provided at itslower end with a sealing gasket 53 adapted to make sealing contact withthe platform 10 when the cover is in closed position.

In order to lock the cover in closed position it is provided with agenerally U-shaped bracket 54 at the upper central portion of the rearwall Stic of Vthe cover. This bracket 54 movably supports a catch pin 55that extends through the rear wall 50c which is provided on its outerend `with a knob 56. The pin -55 is urged toward a forward position bymeans of a coil spring.N 57 that surrounds the pin 5S and extendsbetween the inner surface of the cover and a cross pin 53 mounted on thecatch pin 55. .When in fully extended position, as shownk for example inFigure 2, the inner end of the catch pin S5 extends into the. opening4Gb and engages lthe lower surface of the flange 40C to retain the coverSil in closed position. When it is desired to open the cover theoperator grasps the knob 56 and pulls rearwardly against the spring 57and then rotates the cover forwardly about the hingepins 52 to theposition shown in dotted lines 1n Figures 2 and 8 and in solid lines inFigure 3.

In order to aid in preventing 'cleaning tools within the container 42coming inV contact with `lthe' rear wall 50cA of the cover 50, the.container, is provided-with a pair of metall straps S9-vertically spacedfrom each other and extending between' the forward edges ofthe sidewalls Y 46 adjacent to the cover 56. i

The front wall 50b of the' cover is provided with an annular fitting 66of customary construction kwhich 'is used to retain the 'cleanerend of asuction hose (not wall opening 'Stiefoperates yas a suction inlet forladen shown) vof conventional construction. l`hus the ttingrh 60 whichis concentric with the tubeA 38 landthefrout air to the space 33 withinthe cover 50. This iitting 60, its cooperation with the flexible hose ofthe vacuum cleaner and its service as a suction inlet is purelyconventional. l

In order to lift the cleaner and move it from place to place the frontwall 50h of the cover 50 is provided with a handle 61 having endsf61arotatably held in posts 62 on opposite sides of the iittin-g 60.

Mounted on the forward portion of the skirt 11 is a switch 63 whoseinner end is received within the switch box 64. The electricalconnections to the switch 63 and to the motor 65 of the suction unit 27are purely conventional and need not be described.

The platform 1t) is made of relatively thin sheet metal and isreinforced by'means of reinforcing channels 66.

Mounted on the bottom of the platform 10 adjacent to the rear thereofand within the skirt 11 are a pair of downwardly extending bracket 67,each located adjacent to a side of the platform. Each bracket is held inposition as by rivets 68. Each bracket 67 has mounted thereon aforwardly extending resilient rubber member 69 having conical surfaces.Aligned with each rubber conical member 69 and forwardly thereof is aspring clip 70 attached to the bottom of the platforni 10 as by rivets71. Each spring clip has curved sides adapted to grasp and retain thesides of the wand section indicated by the broken line 71a in Figure lwhen the end of the wand section is pressed against the conical surfaceof` the resilient member 69,. With this construction when the cleaner isresting in storage position supported on the rear sides of the bumperstrip 12 and rubber strip 48, the two wand sections 71a will be retainedby the members l69 and theclips 70. In this position the flexible hosecan be dropped over the upwardly positioned front end of the cleaner.The cleaning tools may be retained within the container 42. The vacuumcleaner, wands, hose and cleaning tools can thus be stored in anextremely small space andA can be transported Ifrom place to place bymeans of a handle 61.

The embodiment shownin Figures 8-11 inclusive is a simplified forrn ofthe first embodiment previously described. Thus the constructionfeatures of the second embodiment are substantially identical, differingprimarily in the fact that the tool container 42 is omitted and theplatform v is correspondingly shorter. There is also a slight differencein the support for the suction unit 27. In `this second embodiment thesuction unit 27 is supported within a central opening of an essentiallyinverted dish shaped plate 126. This plate is sealed to the platform 110by means of a gasket 125 extending around an opening 1i0b in theplatform defined by an upwardly extending arcuate fiange. Skirt 11 isprovided on its'bottorn -edge witharubber bumper 112.` Y j In bothembodiments of the invention a paper'bag made of porous material isattached by means of a rubber diaphragm to the tube or horn 38. Such apaper bag filter provided with a rubber diaphragm is conventional and isshown in the Clarence E. Hansen co-pending appli- 38y into' theAinterior ofthe paper bag. Here the dirt is filtered from the air andthefiltered air is drawn through the porous screen-32 andthrough thesuction unit 27 into the inter-iorff34 of the chamber. 17.v` From -hereit is ex hausted through the opening 21. When the filter bag is to bechanged theknob 56 is pulled rearwardly to disengagethecatch'and thecover 50 is rotated forwardly to the position shown in Figure 3rorFigure 9. The dirty bag is then removed anda clean bag installed. Thecover Y When the cleaner is to be used as a blower it is turned so thatthe bottom `of the platform 10, or platform 110, is exposed. The end ofthe flexible hose which normally engages the fitting 60 is then insertedto engage the flanges 17e and 22a. In this position the exhaust air isforced through the hose in the customary manner to function as a blower.The cleaning tools, wand sections and hose have not been illustrated asthey are purely conventional and function in this invention in thecustomary manner.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes,therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a platform; an enclosing chamber havinga bottom wall and side walls beneath said platform, the side wallsforming generally a cord supporting surface; supporting wheels on saidplatform spaced outwardly of said chamber extending to beneath saidchamber; a suction unit on said platform having an inlet above theplatform and an outlet within said chamber and including a motorprovided with an electric cord leading to the exterior of the cleaner,the chamber having an air outlet beneath the platform; means on saidchamber to aid in retaining said cord on said continuous surface whenwound thereon; and means on said platform for supporting said cleaner ina bottom exposed, cord winding position.

2. The cleaner of claim l wherein said platform is provided with adepending skirt therearound tending to hide said chamber beneath theplatform, the cord wound thereon, and at least the tops of said wheels.

3. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a platform; support- Vfing wheelsthereon; a suction unit on said platform having an inlet above and anoutlet beneath the platform; a cas- Iing on said platform normallyenclosing said unit having vits top closely adjacent to but spaced fromthe unit; a suction inlet in said casing; a depending skirt around theedge of said platform normally hiding at least the upper portions ofsaid wheels; means for supporting said cleaner :'in storage positionwith the platform resting on one side :and extending substantiallyvertically; means beneath the `platform for retaining one end of each ofa plurality of wand sections thereon when the cleaner is in storageposition; and releasable means on said platform within the confines ofsaid skirt for releasably retaining said wand sections with the otherends of the sections extending lbeyond said skirt to receive and supporta vacuum cleaner hose.

4. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a platform; an enclosing chamber havinga bottom wall and side walls beneath said platform, the sidewallsforming generally '.a continuous surface; supporting wheels on saidplatform -extending to beneath said chamber; a suction unit on saidplatform having an inlet above the platform and 1an outlet within saidchamber and including a motor provided with an electric cord .leading tothe exterior of the ycleaner, the chamber having an air outlet beneaththe platform; means on said chamber to aid in retaining said cord onsaid continuous surface when wound thereon; a depending skirt aroundsaid platform tending to hide said chamber beneath the platform, thecord wound thereon, and at least the tops of said wheels; a resilientbumper -on the outer surface of said skirt; a switch for said motor onsaid skirt; a pair of spaced resilient members beneath the platformadjacent a rearwardly disposed side por Vtion of said skirt each forreleasably receiving one end of a tubular wand section when the cleaneris in storage astra-rsa 6 jacent to but spaced from the unit; a suctioninlet' in said casing; and means for attaching a filter within saidcasing in communication with said suctioninlet.

5. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a platform; an enclosing chamber havinga bottom wall and side walls beneath said platform, the side wallsforming generally a continuous surface; supporting wheels on saidplatform extending to beneath said chamber; a suction unit on said vplatform having an inlet above the platform and an outposition restingon said side portion; a pair yof spaced normally enclosing said unithaving its top closely adlet within said chamber and including a motorprovided with an electric cord leading to the exterior of the cleaner;the chamber having an air outlet beneath the platform; means on saidchamber to aid in retaining said cord on said continuous surface whenwound thereon; a depending skirt around said platform tending to hidesaid chamber beneath the platform, the cord wound thereon, and at leastthe tops of said wheels; a resilient bumper on the outer surface of saidskirt; a switch for said motor on said skirt; a casing on said platformnormally enclosing said unit having its top closely adjacent to butspaced from the unit; a suction inlet in said casing; means forattaching a filter within said casing in communication withsaid suctionunit; and a cleaning tool container on the rear end of said platformhaving rear and side Walls having inwardly directed top flanges and abarrier extending between the side walls adjacent to the casing for aidin retaining the tools within the container, the suction unit and casingbeing forwardly of said container.

6. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a platform; an enclosing chamber havinga bottom wall and side walls beneath said platform, the side wallsforming generally a continuous surface; supporting wheels on saidplatform extending to beneath said chamber; a suction unit on saidplatform having an inlet above the platform and an outlet within saidchamber and including a motor provided with an electric cord leading tothe exterior of the cleaner, the chamber having an air outlet beneaththe platform; means on said chamber to aid in retaining said cord onsaid continuous surface when wound thereon; a depending skirt aroundsaid platform tending to hide said chamber beneath the platform, thecord wound thereon, and at least the tops of said wheels; a resilientbumper on the outer surface of said skirt; a switch for said motor onsaid skirt; a pair of spaced resilient members beneath the platformadjacent a rearwardly disposed side portion of said skirt each forreleasably receiving one end of a tubular wand section when the cleaneris in storage position resting on said side portion; a pair of spacedresilient spring members beneath the platform each forwardly of andaligned with one of said resilient members for receiving a wand section;a casing on said platform normally enclosing said unit-having its topclosely adjacent to but spaced from the unit; a suction inlet in saidcasing; means for attaching a filter Within said casing in communicationwith said suction inlet; and a cleaning tool container on the rear endof. said platform having rear and side walls having inwardly directedtop flanges and a barrier extending between the side walls adjacent tothe casting for aid in retaining the tools within the container, thesuction unit and casing being forwardly of said container, the top ofsaid rear container wall and said rearwardly disposed side portion ofsaid skirt being substantially coplanar for supporting the cleaner insaid storage position.

References Cited in the file of vthis 'patent UNITED STATES yPATENTS955,886 Laughlin Apr. 26, 1910 1,721,459 McClatchie July 16, 19292,348,966 Dow et al. May 16, 1944 2,439,182 Nuffer et al. a Apr. 6, 19482,573,091 Brown Oct. 30, 1951 2,591,305 Segesman Apr. l, 1952 2,616,517Beck Nov. 4, 1952 2,734,594 Meeker Feb. 14, 1956 (Other references onfollowing page) 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 Famolare et a1. f Apr. 10,1956 Meyerhoefer Jan. 29, 1957 Coons et al. Feb. 12, 19,57 Sparklin Jan.14, 1958 Kasper Dec. 22, 1959

